Afghanistan: Counter-narcotics

Lord Triesman: In his opening remarks to the London Conference on Afghanistan held on 31 January to 1 February, his Excellency Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, described narcotics and terrorism as the two gravest threats facing Afghanistan.
	Despite a 21 per cent reduction in opium poppy cultivation in 2005 (130,000 hectares in 2003–04 to 104,000 hectares in 2004–05), the trade in Afghan drugs remains a significant challenge to Afghanistan's long-term security, development and effective governance. It undermines the stability of the region and accounts for almost 90 per cent of the world supply of opiates.
	President Karzai has taken a strong lead in the struggle against the pervasive and corrosive threat posed by the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics. His Government have, with the support of the UK as the key partner nation for counter-narcotics, recently reviewed and updated their National Drug Control Strategy to ensure their policy approach is the right one. The strategy was endorsed by the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Counter-narcotics and approved by President Karzai in January. The international community also expressed its strong collective support for the updated strategy following its presentation by the Afghan Minister for Counter-narcotics, Engineer Habibullah Qaderi, during the counter-narcotics session of the London conference.
	The National Drug Control Strategy represents a balanced and comprehensive approach to the drug problem. It sets out four key priorities, which I believe will help make a greater impact on the trade and sustain the reduction in cultivation we have seen in 2005. These are:
	disrupting the drugs trade by targeting traffickers and their backers;
	strengthening and diversifying legal rural livelihoods;
	reducing the demand for illicit drugs and treatment of problem drug users; and
	developing state institutions at the central and provincial level.
	The strategy also notes that,
	"where there are legal livelihoods, a credible threat of eradication is needed in order to incentivise the shift away from poppy cultivation".
	It also highlights the importance of raising public awareness and improving international and regional co-operation on counter-narcotics.
	In recognition of the serious threat that narcotics pose to the broader reconstruction effort in Afghanistan and the importance of adopting a comprehensive approach equal to the scale of the challenge, counter-narcotics is also included as a cross-cutting theme in the Afghanistan compact between the Afghan Government and the international community, which was also launched at the London conference. The compact includes high-level benchmarks to measure progress in the counter-narcotics effort. These benchmarks are underpinned by the more detailed planning in the National Drug Control Strategy and the interim Afghan National Development Strategy, the third of the interlocking documents launched in London.
	The challenge now is implementation. In support of the Government of Afghanistan's efforts, the UK will spend £270 million over this and the next two financial years, including some £130 million on legal rural livelihoods and institutional development from the Department for International Development. In the current financial year, about 70 per cent of the rest of UK spending has been channelled into efforts to target traffickers and disrupt the trade. We expect this to remain a top priority.
	As part of the activity to date, the UK has helped to establish and provide training for the Counter-narcotics Police of Afghanistan—the lead drug law enforcement agency, headquartered in Kabul, with seven provincial offices. The UK is also providing training for the Afghan Special Narcotics Force, an elite and highly trained force equipped to tackle high-value targets across the country. We are also working with the international community to recruit and train a counter-narcotics criminal justice task force of Afghan investigators, prosecutors and judges to work with the counter-narcotics police, to be able to push through successful drugs investigations and prosecutions.
	The UK has funded the development of five drug treatment centres and is working with the Ministry of Counter-narcotics to determine how best to support activity in this area following the completion of UNODC's survey on drug use within Afghanistan late last year. We are also supporting the US-led Poppy Elimination Programme (PEP) by funding the salaries of Afghan staff charged with raising awareness of the illegality of the opium industry and monitoring governor-led eradication in priority poppy growing provinces.
	From the spring, as my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Dr John Reid) announced on 26 January, UK troops will be deployed to the south of Afghanistan, to Helmand province, in support of the UN-authorised, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. They will work to counter insurgency and help the appropriate authorities build security and government institutions to continue the progress of recent years. Above all, their presence will help the Afghans create the environment in which economic development and institutional reform—both essential to the elimination of the opium industry—can take place. ISAF forces will be able to help with the provision of training to Afghan counter-narcotics forces and will, when necessary, provide support to their operations. They will also help the Afghan Government explain their policies to the Afghan people. ISAF forces will not take part in the eradication of opium poppy or in pre-planned and direct military action against the drugs trade. As President Karzai has pointed out, this is a job for the Government of Afghanistan.
	The UK is working hard to increase international support, including NATO and coalition support, for the counter-narcotics campaign. It was heartening to note the collective recognition at the London conference of the need to increase resources to help the Government of Afghanistan deliver against the ambitious, but essential, benchmarks they have set themselves. Several delegations, including the US ($2 million), Sweden ($2 million), Korea and the UK (at least £30 million, or $52.9 million), announced contributions to the Counter-narcotics Trust Fund set up to support the strategy in London. These contributions add to those already committed by Australia, New Zealand, the EC and Estonia ($1.5 million, $338,000, $18.4 million and $50,000 respectively), giving a total of $77 million pledged to the CN trust fund. The fund will bring counter-narcotics funding on budget; give the Afghans greater ownership over this important agenda; and ensure that assistance is targeted as effectively as possible.
	The commitment of the Government of Afghanistan and the support of the international community are starting to yield results. Progress is being made. 2005 saw the establishment of a Ministry for Counter-narcotics in Afghanistan, the passage of vital counter-narcotics legislation, the conviction of over 90 drug traffickers and the seizure of some 165 tonnes of opiates. The Counter-narcotics Police of Afghanistan is now 500 strong and the operations of the Afghan Special Narcotics Force are starting to make an impact on the trade, forcing traffickers to shift their modus operandi, moving and storing drugs in smaller quantities.
	In parallel, the National Rural Access Programme has restored thousands of kilometres of roads and renovated hundreds of irrigation systems through labour-intensive cash-for-work schemes aimed at providing basic employment opportunities for the rural poor. Work is also taking place to improve social protection for the poor (through the creation of social safety nets); to improve access to finance and credit; and to develop better provincial development planning processes and research programmes into new crops and markets.
	It will not be easy to sustain last year's reduction in cultivation. Sustainable drug elimination strategies take time. Afghanistan will continue to require the strong support of the international community and the firm commitment of its own Government. As the key partner nation for counter-narcotics the UK remains committed to the challenge and to supporting the delivery of the National Drug Control Strategy. We believe this represents the best means of securing a sustainable reduction in the cultivation and trafficking in opium.

Armed Forces: MARS Programme

Lord Drayson: My right honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Adam Ingram) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am pleased to announce that the following three companies have been chosen to compete for the role of integrator for the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) programme:
	AMEC
	KBR
	Raytheon Systems Ltd
	MARS will form an essential part of the UK's versatile maritime force, providing a suite of vessels to supply UK and allied vessels with fuel, food, ordnance and other support they need to sustain operations. MARS will also introduce a new capability, providing joint sea-based logistics for those operations where host-nation support is absent or limited or where we would wish to reduce our footprint ashore.
	The MARS vessels will have some military features while being technically similar to specialist merchant ships. We therefore want the build of the MARS ships to harness the efficiency of specialist commercial shipbuilding practice. As indicated in the Defence Industrial Strategy, we expect the competition for the shipbuilding element of this project to be wide-ranging. UK yards and other suppliers will be given every opportunity to compete for this shipbuilding work and should see it as both a challenge and an opportunity to demonstrate world-class performance. With the high planned workload on CVF and Type 45, the complex warship design and integration capabilities that we intend to sustain in the UK will remain healthy for some years.
	The integrator's key role will be to use its expertise in engineering project management and supply-chain relationships to drive good project management and partnering practice into a delivery team consisting of the MoD, the integrator, and key suppliers. The selected integrator will also help the MoD identify the shipbuilders and other key suppliers, and develop the right partnering approach to ensure successful delivery of the MARS programme.
	The shortlisting of potential integrators marks a significant step forward for this project. The companies will now work with the Ministry of Defence to provide evidence of their suitability to be the MARS integrator.
	The MARS project, along with the future aircraft carriers, Type 45 destroyers and Astute submarines, forms part of the largest procurement programme of new ships for many years, reinforcing our firm commitment to provide UK Armed Forces with the enhanced naval capabilities needed to face the threats of the 21st century.

Department for Education and Skills: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord Adonis: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Ruth Kelly) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Education and Skills departmental expenditure limit (DEL), including the Office for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools (Ofsted) which has a separate estimate, will be increased by £264,668,000 from £30,765,762,000 to £31,030,430,000 and the administration costs limits will be increased by £337,000 from £276,418,000 to £276,755,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table.
	
		
			 DfES Resources Capital 
			  Change New DEL Of which:   Change New DEL Of which: 
			Voted Non-voted   Voted Non-voted 
			  £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 
			 RfR1 330,227 25,319,634 7,810,706 17,508,928 -184,777 3,995,571 2,600,271 1,395,300 
			 RfR2 82,767 998,740 998,740 0 58,647 322,814 322,814 0 
			 RfR3 -22,196 173,057 173,057 0 0 14 14 0 
			 Ofsted 0 220,000 220,000 0 0 600 600 0 
			 Sub-total 390,798 26,711,431 9,202,503 17,508,928 -126,130 4,318,999 2,923,699 1,395,300 
			 Depreciation* 10,270 -37,573 -12,247 -25,326 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 401,068 26,673,858 9,190,256 17,483,602 -126,130 4,318,999 2,923,699 1,395,300 
		
	
	* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL, in the table above, since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	Within the administration cost limits changes, the impact is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 DfES Original Change Revised 
			  £'000 £'000 £'000 
			 DfES (RfRl) 251,748 337 252,085 
			 Ofsted 24,670 0 24,670 
			 Total 276,418 337 276,755 
		
	
	Resource DEL
	The increase in the resource element of the DEL of £390,798,000 arises from a £445,175,000 decrease in the voted element of the resource DEL and an increase of £835,973,000 in the non-voted element of the resource DEL, mainly to the department's non-departmental public bodies.
	Voted Resource DEL
	The £445,175,000 decrease in the voted element of the resource DEL arises from:
	RfR1
	A £785,273,000 movement to non-voted, to support schools and teachers £226,489,000, to support further education and lifelong learning £427,958,000, to support higher education £118,192,000 and to support children and families £12,634,000. A movement from schools capital £148,065,000 for city academies £125,934,000, for information technology in schools £13,369,000, music and ballet schools £1,502,000 and for the Children and Workforce Development Council £7,260,000. The take-up of end-year flexibility of £29,267,000 for 14–19 year-old programmes £16,615,000, schools standards £3,992,000, city technology colleges £3,790,000, offender education £3,275,000, foundation degrees £1,000,000, departmental publicity and research £539,000 and Derby College £56,000. A movement from RfR2 £29,800,000 for childcare support. A movement from RfR3 £22,196,000 for local area agreements. A reduction of £56,900,000 of receipts for the Scientific Research Investment Fund. An increase of £3,586,000 in receipts for the Knowledge Transfer Funding for Universities. Transfers from the Cabinet Office £337,000 for the Parliamentary Council Office, from the Home Office £500,000 for offender education. Transfers to the Home Office £1,000,000 for the Leave to Remain Programme, the Department for Constitutional Affairs £2,743,000 for the children's adoption Act, to the Department of Health £125,000 for the Bichard Vetting Project and to the National Assembly for Wales £84,000 for students studying at the Open University.
	RfR2
	A movement to RfR1 voted of £29,800,000 for childcare support. The take-up of end-year flexibility £112,567,000 for Sure Start current £74,758,000 and capital £37,809,000 grants.
	RfR3
	A movement to RfR1 of £22,196,000 for local area agreements.
	Administration Cost Limits
	The £337,000 increase in the administration cost limit arises from the transfer from the Cabinet Office for the Parliamentary Counsel Office.
	Non-voted Resource DEL
	The £835,973,000 increase in non-voted resource DEL arises from the movement of £785,273,000 from RfR1 voted resource DEL. The take-up of end-year flexibility £39,588,000 for Higher Education Funding Council for England Science and Research £33,000,000, Qualifications and Curriculum Authority modernisation £6,338,000, Adult Learning Inspectorate administration £250,000. The movement from voted schools capital £50,000,000 for Higher Education Funding Council for England teaching infrastructure. A reduction of £56,900,000 Higher Education Funding Council for England for the Scientific Research Investment Fund and an increase of £3,586,000 for the Knowledge Transfer Funding for Universities. Transfers from the Department of Health £18,979,000 for university medical schools £10,500,000, pensions indexation £5,669,000, clinical academies £2,328,000 and college social work £482,000. Transfer to the National Assembly for Wales £4,553,000 for students studying at the Open University.
	Capital DEL
	The decrease in the capital element of the DEL of £126,130,000 arises from a £210,769,000 decrease in the voted element of capital DEL and an increase of £84,639,000 in the non-voted element of capital DEL.
	Voted Capital DEL
	The £210,769,000 decrease in the voted element of the resource DEL arises from:
	RfR1
	A £82,640,000 movement to non-voted to support schools and teachers £77,867,000, to support further education and lifelong learning £3,901,000 and support for higher education £872,000. A movement to voted resource £148,065,000 for city academies £125,934,000, for information technology in schools £13,369,000, music and ballet schools £1,502,000 and for the Children and Workforce Development Council £7,260,000. A movement to non-voted capital £50,000,000 for Higher Education Funding Council for England teaching infrastructure. The take-up of end-year flexibility of £11,289,000 for Cybrarian capital modernisation £10,450,000 and secure accommodation £839,000.
	RfR2
	The take-up of end-year flexibility of £58,647,000 for local authority capital grants.
	Non-voted Capital DEL
	The £84,639,000 increase in the non-voted capital DEL arises from the movement of £82,640,000 from voted capital DEL. The take-up of end-year flexibility £1,999,000 for Education Funding Council for England Technology Institutions £982,000, Qualifications and Curriculum Authority capital investment £820,000, Sector Skills Development Agency capital investment £195,000 and Investors in People capital investment £2,000.

Department for International Development: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Baroness Amos: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for International Development departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be increased by £46,111,000 from £4,472,082,000 to £4,518,193,000. The administration budget will be increased by £11,000 from £238,970,000 to £238,981,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table.
	
		£000s
		
			New DEL 
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 46,111 3,869,027 629,174 4,498,201 
			 Capital - 42,000  42,000 
			 Depreciation* - -22,008  -22,008 
			 Total 46,111 3,889,019 629,174 4,518,193 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of the resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL, since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of these assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:
	Voted
	A partial drawdown of £50,000,000 of other resource end-year flexibility, as set out in the Public Expenditure 2004–05 Provisional Outturn White Paper (Cm 6639) within Request for Resources 1 for humanitarian assistance following the earthquake in Pakistan.
	An increase of £11,000 in administration costs within Request for Resources 1 relating to funds transferred from the Cabinet Office in respect of DfID's use of the Parliamentary Counsel Office.
	An increase of £2,500,000 within Request for Resources 2 from the take-up of Africa conflict prevention departmental unallocated provision for planned programme activity on conflict prevention.
	A transfer of £2,000,000 within Request for Resources 2 in respect of a transfer from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for planned programme activity on global conflict prevention.
	Non-voted
	A reduction of £2,500,000 in Africa conflict prevention departmental unallocated provision relating to the take-up of provision within the DfID's Request for Resources 2.
	A reduction of £500,000 in Africa conflict prevention departmental unallocated provision relating to a transfer to the Ministry of Defence to fund approved projects on conflict prevention in Africa.
	An increase of £150,000 in Africa conflict prevention departmental unallocated provision in respect of a transfer from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from savings on conflict prevention projects in Africa.
	A reduction of £3,050,000 following the reclassification of the retrospective terms adjustment charge on interest forgone by the Consolidated Fund on the conversion of loans to grants, as outside public expenditure.
	A reduction of £2,500,000 following the reclassification of interest income on bilateral and multilateral loans from outside the DfID resource budget to the resource DEL.

Department for Transport: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord Davies of Oldham: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Alistair Darling) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Transport DEL for 2005–06 will be increased by £270,488,000 from £11,723,915,000 to £11,994,403,000 and the administration costs limits will be increased by £5,365,000 from £264,558,000 to £269,923,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table.
	
		New DEL -- £'000
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource: 
			 Administration 5,365 265,900 4,023 269,923 
			 Programme 751,444 6,009,172 3,283,726 9,292,898 
			 Capital -94,124 1,756,176 1,445,360 3,201,536 
			 Depreciation* -392,197 -760,131 -9,823 -769,954 
			 Total 270,488 7,271,117 4,723,286 11,994,403 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	Resource Change: Administration (total increase of £5,365,000)
	Voted: total increase of £5,365,000.
	RfR1
	Partial repayment of £5,000,000 from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for continuous registration start-up costs arising from receipts on the scheme; and
	a transfer of £365,000 from the Cabinet Office (Parliamentary Counsel Office) to provide for the introduction of inter-departmental charges for parliamentary counsel costs.
	Resource Change: Programme (total increase of £751,444,000)
	Voted: total decrease of £74,248,000
	RfR1
	Take-up of £350,843,000 non-cash reserve claim for the Highways Agency in respect of depreciation of the road network, writedown of fixed assets, net increase in provisions and loss on disposal of assets.
	Take-up of £1,421,000 end-year flexibility, comprising:
	£536,000 Invest to Save Budget for the Mobility and Inclusion Unit and;
	£885,000 for European regional development fund projects.
	£17,163,000 Machinery of Government transfer and equivalent receipts from the Cabinet Office in respect of the Government Car and Despatch Agency. The resource costs and income of the agency are included within the DfT administration cost limit.
	a net transfer of £5,881,000 to other government departments comprising:
	£3,808,000 to the Ministry of Defence in respect of the National Metrological Programme and Severe Weather Warning Service;
	£2,280,000 to the Scottish Executive in respect of the change in responsibility for making payments to the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive from the Strategic Rail Authority;
	£500,000 to the Office of the Rail Regulator in respect of the writeback of assets; partially offset by
	£707,000 from HM Revenue and Customs for the design panel funding associated with work on road pricing; and
	a net transfer to non-voted resource provision of £866,572,000 comprising:
	£796,265,000 to the Strategic Rail Authority to allow it to continue paying network grants until the end of the financial year;
	£21,753,000 to cover the shortfall in the Strategic Rail Authority budget arising from the reclassification of the British Rail Board (Residuary) as a public corporation where only its subsidy and borrowing score within DEL;
	£1,313,000 for the Rail Passenger Council;
	£13,822,000 in respect of an adjusted budget requirement for the Strategic Rail Authority, which is to continue making Network Grant payments until the end of 2005–06;
	£165,000 net reduction in utilisation of National Freight Company provision;
	£1,065,000 to cover Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency cost of capital and depreciation costs; and
	£32,189,000 to the Departmental Unallocated Provision including £31,604,000 arising from detrunking requirements transferred from the Highways Agency.
	A net transfer of £442,141,000 from non-voted resource provision.
	A net transfer of £8,800,000 from the capital voted provision, comprising:
	£7,500,000 in respect of TransEuropean Network capital grants; and
	£1,300,000 for development of improved e-services in DVO Group.
	Increased receipts of £5,000,000 generated by the continuous registration scheme to support the equivalent increase on administration resource.
	Non-voted: total increase of £825,692,000
	RfR1
	take-up of £138,066,000 non-cash reserve claim for the Highways Agency for an adjustment in respect of utilisation of provisions;
	take-up of £174,833,000 end-year flexibility (including £58,540,000 wired from capital to capital grants) in respect of Network Grant;
	a net transfer of £57,527,000 from the non-voted capital departmental unallocated provision for Network Grants;
	a net transfer of £866,572,000 from the voted resource provision;
	a net transfer of £30,835,000 from voted capital provision in respect of Network Grant; partially offset by:
	a transfer to the voted resource provision of £442,141,000 comprising:
	£391,729,000 Machinery of Government adjustment to reflect the transfer of Strategic Rail Authority activities to the department;
	£7,100,000 from the Strategic Rail Authority to rail group budgets;
	£25,042,000 Channel Tunnel Rail Link derisked capital grant budget to non-derisked grants; and
	£18,270,000 cover reflecting increased Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency receipts.
	Capital Change (total decrease of £94,124,000)
	Voted: total decrease of £90,950,000
	RfR1
	Take-up of £1,385,000 end-year flexibility for European Regional Development Fund projects;
	£1,110,000 Machinery of Government net transfer (including receipts of £150,000 from the Cabinet Office in respect of the Government Car and Despatch Agency);
	£415,000 transfer from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in respect of its share of joint IT project costs;
	£600,000 from capital non-voted departmental unallocated provision for promoting sustainable travel initiatives;
	a transfer to non-voted capital provision of £55,215,000 composing:
	£39,571,000 for detrunking;
	£5,500,000 for the British Transport Police Authority;
	a transfer of £3,506,000 to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for capital projects including vehicle system software re-platforming and PFI schemes;
	a transfer of £4,000,000 to the British Transport Police Authority (£3,327,000) and the Greater London Authority (£673,000);
	£2,311,000 from National Air Traffic Services additional receipts to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency; and
	£327,000 from National Air Traffic Services additional receipts to the Greater London Authority.
	A transfer of £30,835,000 to non-voted resource provision;
	a transfer of £8,800,000 to voted resource provision and;
	reduction of £390,000 in the Highways Agency receipts to compensate for loss on sale of assets.
	Non-voted total decrease of £3,174,000
	RfR1
	A transfer of £57,527,000 to resource non-voted provision;
	a transfer of £600,000 to capital voted provision;
	£262,000 decrease in respect of increased Humber Bridge receipts; partially offset by:
	a transfer of £55,215,000 from capital voted provision.

Department for Work and Pensions: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (John Hutton) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Work and Pensions DEL will be increased by £120,787,000 from £8,827,404,000 to £8,948,191,000 and the administration budget will be reduced by £30,335,000 from £6,059,262,000 to £6,028,927,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table.
	
		New DEL -- £k
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 58,158 7,409,690 1,178,920 8,588,610 
			 Capital 62,000 458,414 9,928 468,342 
			 Depreciation 1 629 -107,999 -762 -108,761 
			 Total 120,787 7,760,105 1,188,086 8,948,191 
		
	
	Note:
	1 Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:
	RfR1
	An increase in provision of £4,000,000 (other current) due to increased spending by the Child Support Agency (take-up of end-of-year flexibility).
	RfR2
	An increase in provision of £37,000,000 (grants) due to increased spending on employment programmes (take-up of end-of-year flexibility);
	an increase in provision of £74,000,000 (other current/grants) due to increased spending by Jobcentre Plus (£50,688,000), Health and Safety Executive (£8,763,000) and Housing Benefit administration (£14,549,000) (take-up of end-of-year flexibility);
	a reduction in provision of £229,000 (other current) due to a transfer to the Department of Trade and Industry for the transition costs of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights; and
	a reduction in provision of £62,000,000 (other current) due to a switch of funding into capital to reflect revised spending plans.
	RfR3
	An increase in provision of £3,000,000 (other current) due to increased spending by the Pensions Service (take-up of end-of-year flexibility);
	RfR4
	An increase in provision of £2,000,000 (other current) due to increased spending by the Disability and Carers Service (take-up of end-of-year flexibility);
	RfR5
	An increase in provision of £387,000 (administration) due to a transfer of funding from the Cabinet Office for the transfer of the functions of the Parliamentary Counsel Office.
	Capital
	The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:
	RfR2
	an increase in provision of £62,000,000 due to a transfer from other current to better reflect spending plans.
	Administration Costs
	The movement in the administration cost limit arises from:
	RfR2
	A transfer of provision of £30,000,000 within Jobcentre Plus from administration to other current to more accurately reflect spending plans;
	RfR4
	A transfer of provision of £722,000 from Disability Client Group (administration) to Disability Rights Commission (other current);
	RfR5
	An increase in provision of £387,000 (administration) due to a transfer of funding from the Cabinet Office for the transfer of the functions of the Parliamentary Counsel Office.
	Movements from non-voted expenditure
	Additionally there are the following drawdowns that are neutral in overall DEL terms:
	Welfare Modernisation Fund
	£64,564,000 into RfR1 for child support reform;
	£70,000,000 into RfR2 for Jobcentre Plus modernisation;
	£26,000,000 into RfR3 for the Pensions Transformation Project; and
	£18,000,000 into RfR4 for Disability and Carers Service modernisation.
	Employment Development Fund
	£285,000,000 into RfR2 for Jobcentre Plus rollout.
	Financial Assistance Scheme
	£17,000,000 into RfR3 to reflect spending plans.

Department of Health and Food Standards Agency: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord Warner: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department of Health's element of the departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be increased by £112,322,000 from £78,591,189,000 to £78,703,511,000 and the administration cost limit will be increased by £484,000 from £247,629,000 to £248,113,000. The Food Standards Agency DEL will be increased by £951,000 from £144,424,000 to £145,375,000. The overall DEL including the Food Standards Agency, will be increased by £113,273,000 from £78,735,613,000 to £78,847,886,000. The impact on resource and capital is set out in the following table.
	
		New DEL
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Department of Health £ million £ million £ million £ million 
			 Resource DEL 
			  124.197 75,426.393 -529.414 74,896.979 
			 Capital DEL -11.875 865.966 2,940.566 3,806.532 
			 Total Department of Health DEL 112.322 76,292.359 2,411.152 78,703.511 
			 Depreciation* 0 -610.510 -51.669 -662.179 
			 Total Department   of Health 
			 spending (after 
			 adjustment) 
			  112.322 75,681.849 2,359.483 78,041.332 
			 Food Standards 
			 Agency 
			  
			 Resources 0.001 143.778 0 143.778 
			 Capital 0.950 1.597 0 1.597 
			 Total Food 
			 Standards 
			 Agency DEL 
			  0.951 145.375 0 145.375 
			 Depreciation* 0 -2.004 0 -2.004 
			 Total Food 
			 Standards 
			 Agency 
			 spending (after 
			 adjustment) 
			  0.951 143.371 0 143.371 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since the capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The Department of Health DEL has increased by £112,322,000 to reflect take-up of £200,000,000 capital end-year flexibility as announced in the public expenditure White Paper (Cm 6639) of July 2005, and £1,461,000 from the "invest to save" budget for social care projects. In addition, transfers have been agreed with the DHSS Northern Ireland of £554,000 for out-of-area treatments and from the Cabinet Office of £484,000 (administration costs) for services of the parliamentary counsel. These increases are offset by transfers to the Department for Education and Skills of £18,854,000 mainly for capital building programmes and pension costs; a transfer to the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs of £60,000,000 for a contribution towards the over-30 months scheme; to the Department for Constitutional Affairs of £1,500,000 capital associated with the transfer of the mental health review tribunals; to the Scottish Executive of £4,140,000 for out-of-area treatments; to the National Assembly for Wales of £5,684,000 mainly for out-of-area treatments and cross-border flows.
	The Department of Health's administration cost limit has increased by £484,000 from £247,629,000 to £248,113,000 as detailed above.
	The changes to the Food Standards Agency resource element of the departmental expenditure limit arises from an increase in MHS gross cost of £5,000,000 offset by a similar increase in the income limit. Due to this neutral change the programme DEL has been increased by £1,000 to ensure there is a token supplementary amount to be voted.
	The changes to the Food Standards Agency capital element of the departmental expenditure limit arises from increased capital expenditure of £950,000 for the renewal of IT infrastructure and strengthening IT contingency arrangements.

Department of Trade and Industry: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Alan Johnson) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department of Trade and Industry's DEL will be increased by £576,302,000 from £6,374,488,000 to £6,950,790,000 and the administration costs limit will be reduced by £27,917,000 from £391,523,000 to £363,606,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table.
	
		New DEL -- £000
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 412,078 225,473 6,186,687 6,412,160 
			 Capital 164,224 -214,422 753,052 538,630 
			 Depreciation* -15,490 -23,767 -113,923 -137,690 
			 Total 560,812 -12,716 6,825,816 6,813,100 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:
	RfR1
	utilisation of £2,444,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of University Innovation Centres capital grants;
	utilisation of £2,055,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of increased balance sheet provisions for Enemy Property liabilities;
	utilisation of £87,000,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of increased balance sheet provisions for British Shipbuilders liabilities;
	utilisation of £10,000,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of the non-cash costs of the concessionary fuel liability and associated assets;
	a transfer of £305,000 from the Home Office in respect of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights transition costs;
	a transfer of £38,000 from the Department for Constitutional Affairs in respect of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights transition costs;
	a transfer of £229,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions in respect of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights transition costs;
	a virement of £18,500,000 to non-voted expenditure (of which £2,000,000 vired to non-voted capital) in respect of the MG Rover support package funded by the regional development agencies;
	a transfer of £167,000,000 from the Ministry of Defence in respect of non-voted expenditure of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority;
	a transfer of £224,000 to the Cabinet Office in respect of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights transition costs;
	a virement of £11,497,000 voted non-cash to non-voted near-cash expenditure in respect of British Energy liabilities;
	a virement of £21,062,000 from capital grants to capital expenditure, utilising underspends to fund increased expenditure on the National Physical Laboratory (£2,300,000), the Employment Tribunals Service (£4,600,000) and Excellent Corporate Services (£14,162,000);
	utilisation of £31,503,000 from the unused balance of the department's non-science end-year flexibility entitlement (£3,000,000 near-cash, £8,503,000 non-cash vired to near-cash and £20,000,000 administration vired to programme) in respect of non-voted expenditure on British Energy liabilities;
	utilisation of £114,021,000 loaned from the unused balance of the department's science end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of non-voted expenditure on British Energy liabilities;
	utilisation of £979,000 loaned from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement to fund programmes reduced to fund British Energy liabilities;
	a virement of £54,024,000 from non-voted near-cash resource expenditure to non-voted capital expenditure in respect of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority;
	a virement of £1,500,000 from non-voted capital expenditure to voted non-cash resource expenditure in respect of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority;
	utilisation of £5,000,000 from the unused balance of the department's non-cash end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of non-voted expenditure of the regional development agencies;
	utilisation of £3,000,000 from the unused balance of the department's non-cash end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of non-voted expenditure of the Competition Commission; and
	a virement of £71,265,000 from non-voted capital grants expenditure to non-voted capital expenditure in respect of the regional development agencies.
	RfR2
	A reduction of £4,400,000 in the non-voted non-cash expenditure of the Natural Environment Research Council due to a windfall gain to the council's non-cash following implementation of FRS15;
	a virement of £18,717,000 from non-voted capital expenditure to non-voted capital grants expenditure of the research councils.
	Also within the change to resource DEL, the changes to the administration costs limit are (RfR1):
	a transfer of £1,587,000 from the Cabinet Office in respect of the Parliamentary Counsel Office;
	a transfer of £24,000 from the Home Office in respect of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights transition costs;
	a transfer of £126,000 from the Department for Constitutional Affairs in respect of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights transition costs;
	a transfer of £165,000 to the Cabinet Office in respect of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights transition costs;
	a transfer of £210,000 to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in respect of Government Offices for the Regions;
	a transfer of £100,000 to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in respect of the Minister for Women; and
	a virement of £29,179,000 to non-voted programme expenditure in relation to British Energy liabilities.
	Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Main Estimate
	Utilisation of £120,000,000 of the Department's 2006–07 departmental expenditure limit for European regional development fund expenditure borne of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's estimate under the procedures for anticipating future years' expenditure that apply to this budget.
	The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:
	RfR1
	virement of £14,000,000 from non-voted expenditure of the regional development agencies to voted expenditure in respect of the London Development Agency;
	virement of £500,000 to non-voted expenditure in respect of increased contributions from other government departments for the regional development agencies for the Northern Way Growth Fund;
	a virement of £21,062,000 from capital grants to capital expenditure, utilising underspends to fund increased expenditure on the National Physical Laboratory (£2,300,000), the Employment Tribunals Service (£4,600,000) and Excellent Corporate Services (£14,162,000);
	utilisation of £6,190,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility capital grants entitlement to provide cover for an in-year shortfall in recovery of a loan to Ofcom due to early repayment in 2004–05;
	utilisation of £6,000,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement for the Enterprise Capital Fund/Early Growth Fund;
	utilisation of £23,900,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement to provide for a shortfall in non-voted launch investment receipts;
	a virement of £54,024,000 from non-voted near-cash resource expenditure to non-voted capital expenditure in respect of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority;
	a virement of £1,500,000 from non-voted capital expenditure to voted non-cash resource expenditure in respect of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority;
	a virement of £2,000,000 from voted capital grants to non-voted capital in respect of the MG Rover support package funded by the regional development agencies;
	a virement of £71,265,000 from non-voted capital grants expenditure to non-voted capital expenditure in respect of the regional development agencies;
	RfR2
	An increase of £4,000,000 in the non-voted expenditure of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and an equivalent increase in voted receipts;
	a virement of £18,717,000 from non-voted capital expenditure to non-voted capital grants expenditure of the research councils.
	Office of Fair Trading
	Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Office of Fair Trading's DEL will be increased by £1,237,000 from £58,403,000 to £59,640,000.
	Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table.
	
		New DEL -- £000
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 487 57,492  57,492 
			 Capital 750 2,148  2,148 
			 Depreciation*  -2,549  -2,549 
			 Total 1,237 57,091  57,091 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:
	utilisation of £487,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of the launch of "Codes Program" delayed from prior year.
	The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:
	utilisation of £750,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of the launch of "Codes Program" delayed from prior year.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord Triesman: Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be increased by £185,034,000 from £1,818,884,000 to £2,003,918,000. The administration budget will be increased by £29,439,000 from £796,238,000 to £825,677,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table.
	
		New DEL -- £000
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 176,407 1,999,224 6,713 2,005,937 
			 Capital 13,719 135,697 1,000 136,697 
			 Depreciation* -5,092 -138,716 0 -138,716 
			 Total 185,034 1,996,205 7,713 2,003,918 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from: Request for Resources 1 (RfR1)
	Administration
	Reserve claim of £1,386,000 in respect of overseas pricing mechanism.
	Take-up of £5,000,000 end-year flexibility (EYF) entitlement.
	Take-up of £23,092,000 non-cash end-year flexibility (EYF) entitlement of which £20,000,000 is impairments DUP and £3,092,000 is administration non-cash.
	Budget cover transfer from the Cabinet Office of £61,000 for the Parliamentary Counsel Office. Budget cover transfer to the security and intelligence agencies (SIA) of £100,000 in respect of planned activity.
	Programme
	Reserve claims of £8,000,000 from the emergency disaster reserve, £10,500,000 from the reserve to pay for costs incurred from the tsunami.
	Reserve claims of £10,000,000 for the international organisations cost-sharing agreement, £12,600,000 for consular premium collected in the UK and £1,407,000 for the British Council overseas pricing mechanism.
	Transfer of £8,500,000 from RfR2 for the Afghan Delivery Plan.
	Budget cover transfer from the Home Office, £4,000,000 in respect of the Afghan Delivery Plan.
	Drawdown of £4,000,000 and £12,000,000 from the departmental unallocated provision.
	Transfer to the DEL reserve of £4,349,000 in respect of the overseas pricing mechanism.
	Transfer of £1,500,000 to RfR2 to meet conflict prevention activity costs in Iraq.
	PES transfer to the SIA of £875,000 for planned programme activity.
	PES transfer to the MoD of £2,100,000 for overseas programme funding.
	Drawdown from the departmental unallocated provision (DUP) of £20,000,000 for impairments.
	Neutral Changes
	An increase in income and expenditure of £10,000,000 due to an increase in sales into wider markets.
	A non-cash to near-cash switch of £20,000,000.
	An increase in income and expenditure of £14,400,000 relating to consular activity and income. An increase in income and expenditure of £39,100,000 relating to increased visa activity and income.
	Request for Resources 2 (RfR2)
	Programme
	Drawdown of £78,533,000 from the Africa peacekeeping main estimate provision.
	Drawdown of £92,124,000 from the global peacekeeping main estimate provision of which £64,000,000 is transferred to the Ministry of Defence.
	Take-up of £6,812,000 EYF entitlement from the Global Conflict Prevention Pool.
	Drawdown of £10,000,000 DUP from the Global Conflict Prevention Pool.
	Transfer from RfR1; £1,500,000 to meet conflict prevention activity costs in Iraq.
	Budget cover transfer from Global Conflict Prevention Pool of £334,000 to the SIA, £2,000,000 to DfID and £3,200,000 to the MoD.
	Budget cover transfer to DfID from the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool of £150,000 for agreed programme activity.
	A transfer of £8,500,000 to RfR1 for the Afghan Delivery Plan of which £2,500,000 comes from the Africa peacekeeping provision and £6,000,000 from the global peacekeeping provision.
	Capital
	Budget cover transfer from the Home Office of £3,359,000 for capital costs incurred as part of UK visas biometrics programme.
	Claim on the DEL reserve for £360,000 in respect of the overseas pricing mechanism.
	Take-up of £10,000,000 EYF entitlement.
	Neutral Change
	An increase in income and expenditure of £3,000,000 relating to the asset recycling agreement.

Housing Corporation

Baroness Andrews: My honourable friend the Minister for Housing and Planning has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	The Government will legislate to modernise the Housing Corporation's decision-making arrangements as necessary, at the earliest opportunity. This will clarify its ability to delegate decisions from the board to sub-committees and to officers.

Ministry of Defence: Air Traffic Control

Lord Drayson: My right honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Adam Ingram) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am pleased to announce that the Ministry of Defence has today signed a contract with National Air Traffic Services (En Route) plc for approximately £725 million to provide an en route air traffic control facility to the Ministry of Defence until 2021. This contract enables military personnel to work alongside National Air Traffic Services (En Route) plc staff to manage air traffic within UK airspace.
	The existing contract with National Air Traffic Services (En Route) plc expires in July. I am pleased to confirm that National Air Traffic Services (En Route) plc will continue to provide this facility for the next 15 years.
	The signing of this new contract reflects the continued commitment of the Government to an integrated military-civilian approach to en-route air traffic control services. Such an approach, with military personnel working alongside National Air Traffic Services (En Route) plc staff, works to the benefit of all airspace users. This is a world leading concept and offers both operational and cost benefits to defence.

Ministry of Defence: National Employer Advisory Board

Lord Drayson: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Don Touhig) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Following an open competition which attracted a strong field of applicants, I am pleased to advise the House of the appointment of four new members and the reappointment of one member to the National Employer Advisory Board (NEAB).
	The new members are:
	Mr David Brown
	Dr Elizabeth Haywood
	Mr Neil Johnson
	Mr Tim Melville-Ross
	The reappointment is:
	Ms Nicola Carew
	They join the other 11 members of the board, which is chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Glenarthur, and which continues to provide appropriate support in conjunction with the SaBRE campaign to reservists and their employers. I take this opportunity to thank NEAB for its work, which is greatly valued by the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord Drayson: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Dr John Reid) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am pleased to announce that subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Ministry of Defence departmental expenditure limits (DEL) will be increased by £1,303,494,000 from £31,053,831,000 to £32,357,325,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table.
	
		New DEL -- £000s
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 770,794 33,330,552 396,792 33,727,344 
			 Capital 259,997 6,797,534 744 6,798,278 
			 Depreciation* 272,703 -8,168,297 - -8,168,297 
			 Total 1,303,494 31,959,789 397,536 32,357,325 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:
	a transfer of £104,000 from the Cabinet Office to the MoD in respect of future funding arrangements with the Parliamentary Counsel Office;
	a transfer of £2,100,000 from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the MoD in respect of an extension to aircraft operations;
	a transfer of £167,000,000 from the MoD to the Department of Trade and Industry relating to start-up costs for the newly established Nuclear Decommissioning Authority;
	to draw down the department's unallocated provision of £885,000,000 to meet additional requirements for depreciation and provisions;
	to increase non-budget expenditure by £267,606,000 to reflect the impact of the revised Treasury discount rate on provisions;
	to reduce resource provision by £65,000,000 to reflect a technical agreement in the 2004 spending review relating to changes in the handling of cash release of provisions;
	an increase in income of £10,000,000 offset by resource appropriations in aid in the same amount, relating to forecast income being above that requested at main estimates for the central TLB;
	an increase in RfR2 resource of £933,565,000 to reflect the costs of peacekeeping in Iraq and Afghanistan;
	transfers in of £64,000,000 and £3,200,000 resource from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the MoD in respect of the Global Conflict Prevention Pool for Balkans programme costs and the Global Rest of the World Conflict Prevention Pool costs; and
	to recognise a non-budget grant in aid payment of £175,000, offset by a corresponding reduction in DEL, to the Royal Hospital Chelsea and the National Army Museum to fund commercial insurance policies.
	The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from: 
	recognition of a capital DEL reduction of £15,000,000 in RfR1, the advanced purchase of programmed equipment as urgent operational requirements, under RfR2 in 2004–05;
	a reduction of capital provision by £55,000,000 to reflect a technical agreement agreed in the 2004 spending review relating to changes in the handling of cash release of provisions;
	an increase in capital appropriations in aid of £27,857,000 relating to the redemption of preference shares held by the MoD in QinetiQ; and
	an increase in RfR2 capital DEL of £329,997,000 to reflect the costs of peacekeeping in Iraq and Afghanistan.
	The changes to capital and resource, together with changes in internal budgetary reallocations and adjustments to working capital, will lead to an increased net cash requirement of £1,889,814,000.

Ministry of Defence: Votes A 2006–07

Lord Drayson: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (John Reid) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Ministry of Defence Votes A 2006-07, will be laid before the House on 14 February as HC 869. This outlines the maximum numbers of personnel to be maintained for service in the Armed Forces for financial year 2006–07.
	Copies of these reports will be laid in the Libraries of both Houses.

National Savings and Investments: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord McKenzie of Luton: My honourable friend the Economic Secretary (Mr Ivan Lewis) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary Supplementary Estimate, National Savings and Investments's DEL will be increased by £2,500,000 from £179,794,000 to, £182,294,000 and the administration costs limits will be increased by £2,500,000 from £179,794,000 to £182,294,000. Within DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are set out in the following table:
	
		New DEL -- £'000s
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 2,500 182,294  182,294 
			 Capital  500  500 
			 Depreciation*  -2,970  -2,970 
			 Total 2,500 179,824  179,824 
		
	
	* Depreciation which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The increase in the DEL relates to resources only and arises from end-year flexibility being drawn down. This is in order to allow National Savings and Investments to continue with the successful project investment, and to allow costs arising from more recent forecasts on the evidence of identity costs to be financed. More recent National Savings and Investments budgeting assumptions for 2005–06 showed an increase in costs associated with payments to Siemens Business Service (SBS) and other suppliers later in the year. These payments are necessary in order to meet National Savings and Investments financing targets.
	There is no change in the capital element of DEL.

Northern Ireland Office: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord Rooker: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Peter Hain) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to Parliamentary approval the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) will be taking a 2005–06 spring supplementary estimate. This will increase the NIO's resource DEL by £36,241,000 from £1,199,288,000 to £1,235,529,000 and decrease capital DEL by £580,000 from £65,928,000 to £65,348,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resource and capital are as set out in the following table.
	
		£'000s
		
			 ResourceChange New DEL Of which: Voted Non-voted Capital Change DEL Of which: Voted Non-voted 
			 36,241 1,235,529 365,515 870,014 (580) 65,348 29,657 35,691 
		
	
	The change in the resource element of the DEL by £36,241,000 arises from an increase in PSNI pension current service cost of £36,000,000 and the surrender of PES transfers from other government departments of £241,000.
	The change in capital DEL by £580,000 is due to the surrender of a PES transfer to another government department.

Office for National Statistics: DEL and Administration Budget Changes

Lord McKenzie of Luton: My honourable friend the Financial Secretary (Mr John Healey) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Office for National Statistics's DEL will increase by £178,000 from £170,924,000 to £171,102,000 and the administration budget will increase by £178,000 from £170,374,000 to £170,552,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
	
		New DEL -- £'000
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 178 171,102 - 171,102 
			 Capital - 27,570 - 27,570 
			 Depreciation* - -15,500 - -15,500 
			 Total 178 183,172 - 183,172 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from a drawdown of £100,000 from HM Treasury's Evidence Based Policy Fund to fund work on the Wealth and Assets survey and £78,000 machinery of government change from GAD for the transfer of certain responsibility for demographic projections.

Railways: London and Continental

Lord Davies of Oldham: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Alistair Darling) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
	With construction of the link nearing completion, my department has been considering its future relationship with the project and with London and Continental Railways, which is responsible for the construction and operation of the rail link. A number of options have been considered, touching on future financial arrangements, the current structure of controls in light of current best practice in such projects and the structure of LCR and its subsidiary companies. Officials have for some time held discussions with LCR about the best long-term commercial structure. Separately, my department has recently been approached by a third party, asking about the department's attitude to its discussing with LCR's shareholders the potential acquisition of its current holdings, and about the issues of finance, structure and control mentioned above. My department has made it clear that any changes to LCR's ownership, corporate structure or controls structure will be considered against the primary objective of ensuring continuing value for taxpayers' money.

Railways: Silverlink Metro

Lord Davies of Oldham: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Alistair Darling) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
	From 11 November 2007, responsibility for Silverlink Metro services will be transferred to Transport for London (TfL).
	Silverlink Metro consists of train services between Richmond and North Woolwich, Gospel Oak and Barking, Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction and between Watford and Euston.
	The transfer is in line with the Department for Transport's White Paper commitment to examine mechanisms for giving the London Mayor more control over rail services within London.
	After the date of transfer, TfL will have complete responsibility for service levels on Silverlink Metro. TfL will now begin the process of procuring a concession to operate services after the transfer.

Revenue and Customs: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord McKenzie of Luton: My right honourable friend the Paymaster General has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, HM Revenue and Customs's departmental expenditure limit will be increased by £21,249,000 from £5,033,971,000 to £5,055,220,000 and the administration costs limit will be increased by £3,574,000 from £4,523,288,000 to £4,526,862,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
	
		New DEL -- £000's
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 17,849 4,322,312 355,662 4,677,974 
			 Capital 3,400 374,269 2,977 377,246 
			 Depreciation* -19,362 -183,499  -183,499 
			 Total 1,887 4,513,082 358,639 4,871,721 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from the drawdown of £20,000,000 non-cash administration costs EYF as set out in the public expenditure outturn White Paper; the drawdown of £3,400,000 resource departmental unallocated provision, subsequently vired into capital; virement from administration costs to programme expenditure of £15,000,000; the balance reflects the net effect of PES transfers from the Cabinet Office of £1,974,000 administration costs in respect of Parliamentary Counsel Office funding; £707,000 programme expenditure to the Department for Transport to cover the cost of a transfer of work; £18,000 programme expenditure to Security and Intelligence Agencies as a contribution towards the purchase of computer-based tools.
	The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from virement from administration costs of £3,400,000.

Royal Navy: Surface Warship Maintenance and Repair

Lord Drayson: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Dr John Reid) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am pleased to announce new, alternative contracting arrangements for surface warship maintenance and repair. These arrangements were signalled as part of the wider Defence Industrial Strategy and today's announcement is an important step towards ensuring that the capability requirements of the Royal Navy can be met now and in the future.
	Surface warship upkeep (generally known as refitting) contracts have increasingly been awarded following competition while operational (or fleet) time support is delivered through partnering arrangements under the Warship Support Modernisation Initiative. While these arrangements have delivered clear, value-for-money benefits to the MoD, recent force level reductions coupled with overcapacity in the surface ship repair market prompted a review. The department, in consultation with industry, undertook a study (the Surface Ship Support Study) to identify the optimum approach for the future maintenance and repair of surface warships (aircraft carriers, major amphibious vessels, destroyers, frigates and mine warfare vessels) that would deliver the most efficient, effective and sustainable support policy and offer best value for money to the taxpayer.
	The study has concluded that the option best able to meet the needs of both the department and industry would be the formation of a surface warship support alliance, which would include current providers of surface warship upkeep and fleet time support. We will now enter into detailed dialogue with industry to investigate the feasibility of delivering such support through an alliance. During this exploratory phase, which is planned to last up to two years, competition policy will be suspended, to enable the alliance concept to be developed and tested progressively in a controlled manner. The first package of surface warship upkeep to be included in the exploratory phase will be that for HMS "Liverpool", HMS "Iron Duke", HMS "Cumberland", HMS "Chiddingfold" and HMS "Penzance". It is currently planned to commence in autumn 2006. At the end of the exploratory phase there will be a review of the alliancing approach.
	These new arrangements will promote a sustainable industrial base that retains key operational support and system upgrade capabilities within the UK, so are vital to our ability to maintain and support the Royal Navy. We will be working closely with industry in a spirit of transparency and trust to ensure more effective joint planning for the longer term. The aim will be to improve the delivery of surface ship support, with benefits for the Royal Navy, industry and the taxpayer.

Treasury: Spring Supplementary Estimate

Lord McKenzie of Luton: My honourable Friend the Financial Secretary (John Healey) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, HM Treasury resource DEL will be increased by £914,000 from £256,064,000 to £256,978,000. The administration budget will be reduced by £5,313,000 from £166,854,000 to £161,541,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:
	
		New DEL
		
			  Change Voted Non-voted Total 
			 Resource 914,000 221,592,000 35,386,000 256,978,000 
			 Of which: Administration -5,313,000 161,141,000 400,000 161,541,000 
			 Capital -1,745,000 5,455,000 - 5,455,000 
			 Depreciation* 8,663,000 -6,518,000 - -6,518,000 
			 Total 7,832,000 220,529,000 35,386,000 255,915,000 
		
	
	*Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.
	The net change in the resource element of the DEL arises from the Machinery of Government change transferring the Government Social Research Unit from Cabinet Office to HM Treasury, £914,000 for 2005–06.
	The following items are DEL-neutral:
	The drawdown of £600,000 administration costs from the Financial Inclusion Fund for expenditure on the promotion of banking services to those on low incomes. £1 million of funding for the FIF was classified as Treasury non-voted DEL administration budget at the start of the year; the other £400,000 remains within non-voted DEL.
	Transfer between RfRs 1 and 3, £12,465,000, to fund OGC's work on its wider remit, including delivering the efficiency programme and changes in provisions relating to the residual vacant estate.
	Transfer between RfRs 1 and 2, £3,700,000, for increased spend on coinage arising from higher metal prices.
	Increase in appropriations-in-aid within all three RfRs (RfR1 £10,702,000, RfR2 £500,000, RfR3 £325,000) with increased expenditure switching from RfR1 to RfR2 for coinage spend, see above, and RfR3 for expenditure relating to OGC's fee-earning services.
	Movement of OGC Efficiency Challenge Fund allocation from non-voted to voted, £2,422,000. The allocation for the ECF within non-voted DEL for 2005–06 was £7,800,000, and total forecast ECF expenditure for 2005–06 is £8,868,000. The other £6,446,000 of funding is being transferred from RfR1, as above.
	The net reduction of £1,745,000 in the capital element of the DEL arises from:
	Transfer of capital spend from core Treasury (RfR1) to fund planned expenditure by OGC (RfR3). The transfer is DEL-neutral. In addition, non-operating appropriations in aid are increased by £1,380,000 to cover loan repayments from OGC buying solutions to OGC. The increased net provision is to finance OGC's spend on its domestic IT systems and capital improvements to its Norwich office.
	A further reduction in core Treasury and DMO capital for provision in the main estimate is no longer required.
	The non-voted resource DEL of £35.4 million in the table above includes banking and gilts registration services provided by the Bank of England and Computershare, plus MEPs' salaries and the Civil List. Latest forecasts indicate that those activities are likely to underspend the provision by around £3.9 million in aggregate. In addition, £400,000 of the original £1 million provision for the Financial Inclusion Fund and £5,378,000 of the original £7.8 million provision for the Efficiency Challenge Fund has not been transferred to voted resource DEL and will not be applied in 2005–06.